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Financial group heads set internal control as top priority in 2025

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From left, KB Financial Group Chairman Yang Jong-hee, Shinhan Financial Group Chairman Jin Ok-dong, Hana Financial Group Chairman Ham Young-joo and Woori Financial Chairman Yim Jong-yong / Courtesy of each lender

From left, KB Financial Group Chairman Yang Jong-hee, Shinhan Financial Group Chairman Jin Ok-dong, Hana Financial Group Chairman Ham Young-joo and Woori Financial Chairman Yim Jong-yong / Courtesy of each lender

By Jun Ji-hye

The leaders of Korea's four major financial groups identified strengthening internal controls and enhancing business operations as their top priorities, acknowledging that 2025 will be a challenging year.

Their aim is to focus on the fundamentals of the financial sector — business operations — while minimizing the risk of financial crimes, such as large-scale embezzlement cases that emerged last year.

On Thursday, the leaders of KB, Shinhan, Hana and Woori financial groups delivered their New Year's addresses, highlighting a collective commitment to strengthening innovative financial operations and enhancing internal control systems, as a revamped accountability framework is set to be officially introduced this year.

KB Financial Group Chairman Yang Jong-hee described 2025 as "a year of unprecedented uncertainties and upheaval" and stressed that, in such times, the bank must "demonstrate unwavering trust and stability to ease the concerns of both customers and the market."

The comments came as KB faced significant challenges due to large-scale losses from equity-linked securities (ELS) tied to the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index, with these issues beginning to surface at the end of 2023.

Shinhan Financial Group Chairman Jin Ok-dong also emphasized that this year will be a pivotal time to determine Shinhan's sustainability, outlining three key objectives — establishing effective internal controls, creating differentiated customer value and addressing social issues through finance.

In particular, Jin placed particular importance on internal controls, stating, "Despite company-wide efforts to strengthen internal controls, there were areas that fell short of meeting the expectations of our customers and society. We will firmly establish internal control as Shinhan's core competitive strength."

Hana Financial Group Chairman Ham Young-joo highlighted that this year marks the 20th anniversary of the group's founding, urging introspection.

"While we have achieved growth in asset size and portfolio expansion, we must critically examine whether our internal strength and capabilities have grown in tandem," he said.

"How urgently are we striving for survival? We must recognize the severity of the current crisis and move forward with a sense of urgency unmatched by anyone else."

Woori Financial Chairman Yim Jong-yong, for his part, announced that the bank will operate under an emergency management system throughout this year, following a series of incidents last year, including the significant issue of inappropriate loans extended to relatives of the lender's former chief.

"The painful incidents caused concerns for our customers who have trusted and supported us, and they also damaged the pride of our employees. As chairman, I feel profound remorse for our customers, shareholders and employees," he said.

"Rebuilding Woori Financial on a stronger foundation of trust is the task we must undertake now."

Reflecting this commitment, the group has set its management goal for 2025 as strengthening trust and competitiveness through innovation in internal control systems.

Jun Ji-hye jjh@koreatimes.co.kr


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